BP appoints new Russia head

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The head of BP's Russian business is leaving Moscow the year after the British oil major failed to clinch a major Arctic strategic partnership with state-controlled Rosneft, the company said on Friday. Jeremy Huck will be replaced by BP Russia's chief financial officer, Richard Sloan, in a "planned rotation" after a three-and-a-half year assignment, a spokesman for BP in Moscow said. BP's partnership with Rosneft , signed in early 2011 in the presence of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, collapsed amid legal wrangling with the co-owners of its Russian venture TNK-BP . ...

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MOSCOW (Reuters) - The head of BP's Russian business is leaving Moscow the year after the British oil major failed to clinch a major Arctic strategic partnership with state-controlled Rosneft, the company said on Friday.

Rosneft is seeking to borrow up to US$30-billion from China in exchange for possibly doubling oil supplies, making Beijing the largest consumer of Russian oil and further diverting supplies away from Europe.
Four industry sources familiar with the situation told Reuters Rosneft was in talks with China’s state firm CNPC about the borrowing, which would echo a $25 billion deal the two companies clinched last decade.

When we exposed the shift in Russia's military doctrine towards one of nuclear deterrence and pre-emptive strikes, many eschewed it as fantastical thinking of extremists. They were wrong. Speaking at a defense meeting this morning, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared he is taking charge of Russia's military-industrial complex:

Russian energy companies signed a slew of deals with China on Tuesday, seeking to lock in sales to fund costly production and pipeline projects that will direct exports away from Europe to Asia.
The agreements, announced during a visit by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to Beijing, brought Igor Sechin, CEO of state oil major Rosneft, closer to his goal of exporting more than 1 million barrels per day of oil to China.

MOSCOW — Rumours continued to swirl Friday over the whereabouts of Vladimir Putin, with one newspaper claiming the Russian president had fathered a child with his long-term girlfriend.
Mr. Putin flew to Switzerland to be with Alina Kabaeva, his rumoured lover, as she went into labour at a private clinic, Switzerland’s Blick tabloid reported, citing residents.
The Clinic Sant’Anna near Lugano specializes in gynecology and is popular with wealthy Russians.

Newport (United Kingdom) (AFP) - NATO leaders will aim Thursday to show unity against Russia over the conflict in Ukraine, after France suspended delivery of a warship to Moscow despite a surprise peace plan put forward by the Kremlin.